No Rest for the Wicked
by Blagrish
Summary: "Always on the run and never looking back. I've always wished I could settle down, but you know what they say. Heh, there ain't no rest for the wicked." [OCxMara Sov]
1. Chapter 1

**For people who are reading my other Destiny story, please do not take this as a sign that I'm giving up on it. I decided that my brain would work best if it's got some more stuff to think about. Weird but true.**

* * *

Corin sat in the captain's quarters of his ship, trying to drown out the incessant struggling of his prisoner as they cruised past Venus.

Wrinkles under his eyes had already formed years ago, despite his young age and seemingly carefree behavior. His jet black hair was never almost never fixed, and a grin never came easy for him.

Although, no one had ever seen him like that. Besides his gifts as a pirate, he also happened to be a very talented actor. His two strengths worked together nicely, because who'd want to buy from a disingenuous liar?

On the other hand, his mask of the charismatic charmer served him well, allowing him to get away with plenty of things: thievery, cheating, lying, and if need be, murder.

Of course in his current case, he didn't even need to put on the mask; no one really cared if a Fallen baron just disappeared. The only person that actually did care was Corin himself simply because the four-armed bastard was disturbing the silence.

"Would that stupid thing quit pulling on its chains? It's getting a little annoying!"

His navigator walked into the room, and instantly, the feigned smile appeared on Corin's face. "I'm afraid the only way to shut him up would be to sedate him, but the closest place we could get those drugs is two hours away."

He sighed heavily and picked up the revolver on his desk. "I could always just conduct the interrogation now. We don't necessarily need to wait until we get back to the compound to start asking questions."

"Well, we can't do that because we don't have the means to… extract the information from him."

"Is that what we're calling it now, Shawn?" he said through a mischievous grin.

The navigator laughed, like most people did when Corin made an attempt to make them. "Yes, that's what we're calling it now."

"I think I could handle it without our _'extractor,'"_ he said with an exaggerated tone. "Besides, nothing gets people to talk like a little game." With his revolver in hand, he started for the cells.

The white flood lights that lined the walls of the hallways agitated the corners of his eyes, but the brighter the ship, the harder it was for people to hide things from him. He passed by each room one by one, giving a half-hearted wave to each crew member he passed by.

The trap door leading to the dungeon lied at the end of the hall. But in all honesty, it was hardly a prison. The engine room took up most of the space, leaving barely any room for the torturously small cells. Though some would say that it better served its purpose, preventing its captives from getting too comfortable.

The ladder dropped down into the dungeon as he lifted the door. Hot air blasted out from the new opening, almost making Corin pity the poor soul trapped in his ship.

He lowered himself in, and the smell of burning oil quickly found its way to his nose. The light overcoat that he wore felt like a plastic bag against his skin, forcing him to remove it.

"Ugh, I've got to get used to my own engine room someday." The baron's struggling ceased as he realized that someone had entered the dungeon.

Corin glanced over at his prisoner and smiled. "Enjoying your stay?" He asked in Eliksni.

"You speak in my native tongue… I am surprised, human."

"I found that I lose my intimidation when I have a translator," he replied, pulling up a chair and unlocking the gate to the cell. "Now, I want your information, not your head on a pike, so which one do you prefer."

"I will tell you nothing."

Corin threw his head back in exasperation and readied his pistol. "Okay I guess we'll do it the hard way." He whipped his gun to the side, exposing the six-bullet chamber. "Have you ever been to Old Russia?"

The baron gave no answer.

"Well, they had a game back then called Russian Roulette." His eyes lifted from his gun back to the baron, searching for any reaction. "The rules of the game are, I put one bullet in the chamber and I try and kill you with it," he said as he slid a bullet in, "but I think that one bullet is a little too merciful.

"Now, I'm going to ask you a few quick questions: did you and your crew of rats give the Wolves in the Reef weapons and supplies?"

No answer.

"I was hoping you'd do that." Corin slid another bullet into the chamber. "Is there a supply route going in and out of the Reef?"

No answer. Another bullet.

"Do you plan on speaking at all?"

No answer.

"Eh, I'll count that." Another bullet. "The odds are stacked against you, my friend. I'd suggest talking," he spun the chamber and flicked it back into place, "or I'll give this gun a chance to kill you."

The baron lifted its head with pride and spat in his direction.

"Very well." He pointed the gun at its head, but all that could be heard was the faint hum of the engines and a quiet _click._

"Are you kidding me?" Corin stared at gun in disdain, then fired the rest of the shots into the baron's legs. It's cries of agony filled the room, and he took a step closer now holding the knife he kept in his right boot.

He squatted down and rested blade on the kneeling baron's shoulder. "Feel like talking now?"

"I… will not… cower to… a weak, pathetic… human."

"If I recall correctly, your station will be far below mine if I cut off just two of your arms," he replied toying with the knife in his hand. "Imagine how much worse it'll be if I cut off all four of them."

No answer.

"Wow, you are unbelievably stubborn!" He drew back his knife and cut through his left arm as the baron's screams filled the ship for the second time.

* * *

"Yup, we just take a route through the southeastern border of the Reef, just below the Prison of Elders," Corin said, setting his crimson coated knife onto his desk.

"Below the Prison of Elders? Are you sure it's not just trying to set you up?"

"I'm not sure if he is, so I sent two of my black eyes to check it out. Shawn, I've got this completely under control."

"But why do we need to trespass into the _Queen's territory_? We've got a pretty good thing going in Venus and Earth."

Corin found himself studying his crewman's face, as he did to many of the people he talked to, always searching for there true motives and feelings. Shawn seemed to possess not only true concern for himself, but also for his captain, which was almost always the result of Corin's examinations.

"You don't need to worry. If a Fallen skiff managed to make it through multiple times to fund a rebellion, we can do it a few times if our own. I'm sure the Reef is filled with Awoken itching to get their hands on some weapons. Not to many people in the Reef are allowed to have guns, you know?"

The dull blue eyes of his navigator showed his acceptance of defeat, and Shawn left his quarters in a dejected shuffle.

Corin punched a frequency code into his comm link, and his supplier quickly answered.

"Adrian, I hope you got some interesting things for me. I'm taking a little field trip his weekend."

* * *

 **A/N: Make sure to leave a review! I kind of want to get a feel of how this story is doing.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Nothing like some fresh inspiration.**

 _Could this place look any more depressing?_

Corin stared through the large window behind his desk. Pieces of debris floated past and occasionally bumped into the ship's overshield. His normal frown settled on his face, and he asked that no one disturbed him in fear that he wouldn't be able to pull himself together in the oppressive environment that was the Reef.

"Twenty minutes until we reach 2 Pallas," Shawn's voice crackled over the ship's intercom, "We're going dark for a few minutes while we pass the Prison of Elders. Just a precaution."

His voice cut cut off and was replaced with dead silence. The lights above him flickered off, leaving nothing but the cold violet light streaming in from his window.

Corin could see the massive prison in the distance; a huge, hulking mass of space junk, with a single platform on its exterior manned by one orange servitor.

Despite his calm stature, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He could only imagine what would happen if the Vestian Guard happened to stumble upon his ship, which carried a baron that supplied the Wolves with supplies, and some "supplies" of his own.

His hands felt cold and clammy, and he wiped them profusely off against his coat.

The prison now hovered above them, and they only needed to fly about two kilometers until they were in the clear. He couldn't help but feel relief wash over him, heard a small _thunk_ against his window. A small sphere with Queen's Wrath insignia just outside of the ship began to beep rapidly, then exploded in a flood of light.

"Shit! Of course we hit a detection mine," Corin cursed under his breath. "Why wouldn't we hit one?"

Shawn was the first to rush into his room in a panicked flurry. "What do we do? Vestian galliots will be here any minute!"

Before turning around, Corin quickly wiped the sweat from his hand and forehead and removed the frown from his face. Shawn stared at him expectantly as he waited for a solution to their damning predicament.

"We're going to need our prisoner."

Corin pushed past his navigator and made his way to the dungeons, wasting no time to jump through the trapdoor. The baron sat up, now with only two arms on one side of his body.

"Let's go," Corin commanded in Eliksni, "We're setting you free." He pulled the baron up and dragged it back to his quarters, meeting his stunned navigator.

"Yes, that's a great idea! Let's drag our _war criminal_ out of his cell and into your room!"

"Shut up, I have an idea." He plugged a few valves back into the submissive baron's mask and guided him to the window. Flicking open the cover of a button beneath his desk, he turned to look at Shawn. "I'd hold on to something if I were you." He pressed on the switch, and the window behind him slid opens, creating a vacuum into space.

Corin along with his friend clung to his desk, which he made sure to bolt to the ground when he first made the ship.

"I will not be tricked, human!" the baron screamed while hanging from the window's edge.

"I didn't trick you. I'm sure you'll have a great life in the Prison of Elders," Corin yelled back as he pressed the button again. The window slid shut on its fingers, making two of them drop to the floor.

Their feet fell back onto the ground and Shawn stared at him in disbelief. "You could've killed us both!"

"I could've," he shrugged, "but I didn't. Now hurry up and hide us somewhere. The Vestians will find what they're looking for."

Shawn frowned, trying to understand what he was saying. "I don't know what you're…" He gasped with his eyes wide. "Ohh."

"Uh-huh," Corin said sarcastically, "But it only works if they don't find our ship floating next to the baron! Hurry up!"

In an instant, he was alone in his room again as the ship took cover in the debris.

Three galliots pulled up next to the unconscious body of his former prisoner. A red beam washed over it and it dissipated into dust, and with that, the ships were on their way.

"Let's lay low for a bit," he said after noticing that Shawn had reentered his room, "We're really in no rush."

He glanced down at the two fingers that lied on the ground behind his desk and did his best to ignore them.

 _I have military-grade rocket launchers on my ship but I don't have a broom._

* * *

The ship approached the lower district of 2 Pallas, unguarded by the Queen's personal corsairs. Even the queen's very own scouts strayed away from the very bottom of the city. The southern areas of the asteroid were notorious for criminal dealings; all sorts of crooked business went on in there, ranging from black market sales to underground fight clubs.

Although, outsiders weren't necessarily common. The queen had only granted guardians access to the Vestian Outpost on 5560 Amytis, which presented a possible complication to Corin's plans.

Blending in was a rather hard task for him, being that his skin was a light shade of peach instead of blue. He'd considered trading at 4 Vesta's eastern district, which was more accustom to humans, but decided that it'd be more beneficial for him to keep out of the Vestian Web.

"Are you sure you want to go in for yourself?" A concerned voice asked from behind him.

"I'll be fine, Kenna," he swiveled around and faced the ship's engineer. Her long black hair rested in a braid on her thin shoulder, which added to her overall lithe physique. Corin could see the worry in her glowing purple eyes, and took up her pale blue hand into his.

"I want you to stay here on the ship just in case one of the Queen's scouts decides to snoop. That way, they won't arrest the _human_ captain on sight. As long as they see an Awoken person manning the ship, they won't stop to hang around in this place."

She lowered her gaze and sighed. "But wouldn't it be better if you had someone who's Awoken with you?"

"Kenna," he said sympathetically, "no one's going to think twice about arresting me so long as I'm human. Since there's no bounty set by the queen to turn in outsiders, I doubt anyone in the lower district will tattle on me."

Scoffing, she removed her hands from his, "Fine, Corin. Be that way."

"Oh come on," he stepped in front of the door, "Okay, I don't want you to get get into any trouble with the Queen if I do. I don't really know if I'll get caught or not."

"Corin... Just be safe, okay?" She kissed his cheek and walked past him and into the hallway.

* * *

"This district reeks of poverty," Corin said to his Awoken buyer. "Don't take it personally, Khan, but this place doesn't really make it to my favorites."

The older man grunted and continued without talking. The two of them had been had been walking along a narrow road lined with tall but rickety buildings. Small market stands stood against the building walls, filled with dirty and rotten food.

Every person he saw held the same look of hopelessness, even the children didn't have a single glint in their eyes.

"You look to open a supply line into Pallas?" Khan asked in a heavy accent.

"That's the plan, but by the look of things people would want food more than weapons."

"Yes, food would be good, but the people are restless."

Corin frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I walk through here everyday and see the same thing you're seeing _everyday_. Do you not think that I'd make my supply request to be what my people need? Our queen has done nothing to help us, and we have grown tired."

"Oh… you're planning on staging a coup," he said, pondering the information that he just received. "I can't help but feel that I'm a little in over my head. The plan was that I sell you things, and you take care of your business. I'm really not here to fund a peasant revolution."

"You will not be implicated in anything that takes place between us and the queen. You will only provide the weapons, and I will provide the glimmer."

"This all sounds very nice, but the last thing that funded a rebellion was a Fallen baron that I took captive, and he ended up in the Prison of Elders missing two arms and two fingers."

Kahn sighed and led Corin into a small room lit by a single lantern hanging from the wall. "We will make it worth your time… and your limbs." He pulled out a chest about the same size as a the small table it was resting under, and lifted the top open, revealing the glimmer inside.

"40,000 glimmer for the preliminary deal. You give us the ten rockets you brought, and you go home with this chest."

Corin stared at the sheer amount of money in front of him in awe. "Where did you get this?"

"It does not matter where I got it so long as you have it."

"Well in that case, I hope you'll enjoy your new rocket launchers because we have ourselves a deal," he replied, shaking Kahn's hand. "I'll be at the docks with the supplies."

Kahn nodded and closed the chest back up. "I am glad you fell this way, Corin."

He smiled and stepped back out into the street, heading black to his ship. As he passed a small tent in an alley, a small boy rushed out and grabbed his hand.

"Please sir, my mom's sick. I need to get her medicine!" He pulled Corin along to the tent and gestured for him to look inside. A pale, sickly woman rested on a dirty mat, coughing every few seconds. Out of instinct, he pulled the red cloth around his neck over his nose as mouth before going in any further.

"Are you okay?"

The woman had another coughing fit before she could answer. "Son, who is this?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"He's going to help us, Mommy. Won't you?" The boy looked up at Corin pleadingly.

Sighing, Corin pulled out a vial he kept under his coat, along with many other poisons he liked to keep with him. "This glass is filled with a liquid meant to counter poisons, and many of my poisons work as sicknesses. Place only a drop on her tongue each day, and she should recover in a week."

The boy's eyes welled up with tears as he hugged Corin, barely able to wrap his arms around his waist. "Thank you, sir!"

"I'll apply the first dose to make sure you know what you're doing," he said as he peeled the boy off of him. He knelt down and gently asked the woman to open her mouth, making sure her son could see what he was doing.

A small drop of the clear liquids fell into her mouth and her cough instantly resided.

Corin handed the vial to the boy and patted his shoulder. "The only thing different between medicine and poison is the dosage. Don't give her too much at once."

He nodded his head with excitement and rushed to his mother's side.

Stepping out into the street, he came face to face with the barrel of a rifle.

"Freeze."

A scowl crossed his face, staring at the Awoken corsair pointing her gun at him. "You're under arrest, trespasser. And trust me, the queen doesn't take these kinds of things lightly."


	3. Chapter 3

Corin did his best to hide his nervousness as the corsair pressed her gun against his back. His hands were cuffed tightly behind him, and he saw no possible way of escaping.

 _Okay, so how far was I from Kahn's hideout? I walked for about ten minutes… so I couldn't be more than a mile away. Shit, if they find out what I'm doing here, I can kiss my head goodbye._

He heard a light _clink_ from under his coat and closed his eyes wth a heavy sigh.

 _I've got a knife in my boot, twenty different poisons that can cause death in twenty different ways, and I might've been seen leaving the hideout of a person who might be the leader of a future revolt. Great._

 _Calm down. Kahn will find out what happened and he'll probably still want his rocket launchers. So you'll be broken out of the Pallas prison in no time._

"Hey, go right," the corsair commanded. Corin perked his head up, and his heart dropped into his stomach at what he saw. He'd been so busy with his thoughts that he hadn't realized they were at the docks.

"Wait, what are we doing here? There's a jail here on Pallas, isn't there?"

She ignored his questions and shoved him forward, making him fall onto the grey dirt below them.

"Get up."

"Only if you tell me what we're doing here," he replied, grinning at the corsair.

Deep frown lines formed in the corsair's face, and she knelt down to meet Corin eye to eye.

" _Get up_."

Leaning back onto his cuffed hands, he gave a devilish smile to his captor. "I've said my terms."

Without hesitation, she swung the butt of her weapon against his face, knocking him back onto the ground. Blood gushed from his newly broken nose and ran down the side of his face. Corin lied stunned on the dirt as he tried to blink away the black dots that danced in front of his eyes.

"Listen hear, _human_ ," she spat the words at him through gritted teeth. "You are in no place to bargain. Now get up and try to hold on to whatever dignity you have left."

"You know I would love to, but it's a little hard to get up without my hands," he said, earning him a hard jab to his stomach. Corin doubled over, the dirt sticking to the fresh blood on his face. For another minute, she relentlessly kicked his limp body until he was lying almost motionless on the floor.

The corsair balled up the cloth from the back of his collar and dragged him along the dirt. The sharp rocks on the ground cut his cheeks as the dust stung his eyes.

Through his flickering vision, he could see Kenna standing on an empty platform next to his ship, her hands covering her mouth in horror. With the last bit of strength he could muster, he mouthed one last command to her.

"Leave."

* * *

Corin's eyes shot open, taking in his unwelcoming surroundings. Both of his wrists were chained to the cold metal floor of his cell. The dull white light of a single bulb attached to the wall glistened against the dry blood on his exposed coat along with his boots and socks were gone, leaving him barefoot with nothing but a bloodstained tank top and his torn pants.

He reached over to scrape some of the dirt off of his other arm, but a sharp pain in his ribs kept him from moving any further. His attention shifted to the growing pain in the bridge of his nose. Gingerly, he reached up and felt the area where the corsair had hit him.

A bone in his nose was clearly out of place, and he sighed, realizing that he'd need to set it himself. He lifted his other hand slowly to his nose and took a deep breath.

"One. Two. Three."

Before he had to time to stop himself, he pushed the bone back into his place. The sudden motion caused another stab to his side, and his nose felt as if it'd been broken a second time.

Physically drained and tormented by his wounds, he slouched against the wall behind him and closed his eyes.

The rhythmic sound of footsteps floated in from the halls, making him snap back to attention. A corsair stepped into the room and gave him a quick once over from the other side of the bars.

"You set your nose," she said crossing her arms. She lifted her visor and he could see that she wasn't the same person that beat him earlier. There was a small sense of compassion in her eyes, but her loyalty to the queen was obvious.

"I did, but you know I wouldn't have had to if your friend didn't break it in the first place," he said, preparing himself for another try with his current guard.

"She wouldn't have broken your nose if you cooperated."

"I would've cooperated if she didn't push me onto the ground."

"She wouldn't have had to push you onto the ground if she didn't have to arrest you for trespassing," she shot back with a smirk.

"Well." Corin purses his lips, pretending to be stumped by her argument. "Okay you got me on that one."

 _Now time for pity._

He raised his arms in surrender, and the sharp pain in his ribs returned as planned. With a loud grunt, he grabbed his side, trying to gain some sympathy from his guard.

"Are you okay?" She asked, sounding genuinely worried.

 _There we go._

"I'm fine. I just think that your friend broke a little more than my nose," he said in a strained voice. She rushed into his cell and unlocked his chains, but not before placing a set of handcuffs around his wrists.

 _Shit_

"Just so you could adjust yourself to a more comfortable position," she said softly, "Better?"

"Uh, yeah." She was much closer than she needed to be and Corin took advantage of the situation.

 _Come on! Force it!_

A light blush rose on his face, and he hoped that the white light was enough to make it visible. A rosy hue on her cheeks gave her away, and seeing his chance, he closed the distance between them.

His cuffed hands found their way to the her keys and plucked the keys to his handcuffs off of her keychain. Tucking the key under his belt buckle, he moved his hands back to her in an attempt to make her uncomfortable enough to pull away.

As soon as he touched her waist, she broke off abruptly and stared at Corin.

"I-I'm sorry," he said innocently, "It was just a kind of heat of the moment thing and I-"

"No! No, it's fine!" She walked out of the cell and shut the door, but turned around hastily. "This never happened." In a second, she was gone and Corin was left trapped in his cell again.

He reached under his belt and pulled out the key, admiring his handiwork. "Oh, but it did, sweetheart."

For the next hour, he stared blankly at the light on the wall, not bothering to devise a plan for his escape. He only knew that he'd get out of his cuffs when the time was right and somehow he'd get out of the Reef.

The sound of footsteps interrupted him once again, but this time the corsair from the docks walked in.

"Get up."

"Is that all you know how to say? I guess what they say about pretty girls being airheads is true," he said, using the wall to help him up.

She unlocked his cell door and grabbed him by the straps of his tank top angrily. "The only reason I haven't kicked your ass again is because you need to be conscious to speak with the queen, so I'd watch what you say afterwards… that is if you're still around by the time she's done with you."

"Gee thanks," he retorted, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"Just walk." She pushed him along from behind, leading him through narrow corridors of what looked like a mental institution. The two of them passed a long hallway with a glass wall on one side, overlooking a hangar with a few galliots parked in it.

Corin pretended to trip and fell to his knees at the hallway's intersection, giving him a perfect view through the window.

 _Four galliots in the hangar. I only need one to get out of here._

But before he could gather any more information, the corsair lifted him to his feet and shoved him forward.

They continued down the corridor for another two minutes before reaching a single door, which led to what Corin assumed was an interrogation room. A small medical table stood beside the door, holding his coat and boots with his many poisons lined up on the table.

"The queen's waiting for you inside."

 _Now's your chance._

He made a dash in the direction of his belongings, trying to make it look like he was running away. The corsair caught him just in front of the table, and while she wrestled to keep him from moving, he grabbed the first poison he could reach and folded it into his hands.

"I am not going to die by the hands of that she-devil," he screamed as he splashed a few drops of poison onto a vent cover resting near the floor. As soon as the drops fell, he capped the poison and tucked it underneath his belt.

The corsair pushed him back to the room while he did his best to feign resistance. The door slid open and he was shoved inside, leaving him standing in the presence of Mara Sov.

The queen stood at the other side of a table with her hands folded behind her back. Her chin was tilted upwards, making Corin feel infinitely small compared to her. The fact that he was sprawled on the floor didn't exactly help his situation either.

The corsair lifted him into a chair and cuffed his hands beneath the table.

"Hi there," he said in his best charming voice, "Corin O'dea at your service."

"You don't talk until I ask you to. Understood?" She said, her facial expression remaining unchanged.

"Understood."

She leaned on the table and rested her weight on her fingertips. "Yesterday, my Vestian Guard stumbled upon a Fallen baron below the Prison of Elders missing two of its arms."

"Well, that's rather unfortunate for-"

Mara bored into him with her piercing blue eyes, silently reminding him not to speak.

"We suspected that it was an escape attempt that was foiled by faulty equipment, which ended up blowing the its arms off of its body."

Corin could feel his heart in his throat, and shifted uncomfortably under the queen's gaze.

"Luckily, the baron was still alive, so we could find out _exactly_ why he was down there." Circling around to his side of the room, she took a seat on the table in front of him.

"The baron woke up about an hour later, but he had no recollection of the events that landed him in open space. He did, however, say that there was someone else with him, so we sent a scout to the nearest colony, 2 Pallas. And how surprised we were to find a human instead of another one of those Fallen."

She leaned in closer and tilted his chin upwards to face her. "So, what are you doing in my territory?"

 _Now's not the time to choke… showtime._

A mischievous smile spread across his face and he leaned in closer to the queen. "Why, money of course." He leaned back against his chair and stretched his legs out.

"And by the way, your original assumption that the baron was trying to escape is misconceived."

 _There goes a perfectly good plan._

"I had captured the baron after finding out that he was one of the Fallen who supplied the House of Wolves with weapons from the outside. Curiosity got the best of me and I just had to find out how he got in and out of the Reef without being detected."

Her eye's narrowed, seeming as though she was trying to find out why he was telling her everything.

"It took some… persuasion, or two arms, you call it whatever you want, but I eventually found out there was a hidden pass underneath the Prison of Elders, straight to 2 Pallas. Knowing that Wolves and their accomplices were still on the loose, I was seeking to cash in on some bounties set by the people. You see, the people aren't exactly too happy about the wolves raiding their towns for resources before they took off. So, they're seeking retribution… retribution that they're willing to pay for.

"But, when I accidentally hit a detection mine on the way here, I hoped that the baron would provide sufficient cover. I also hoped that he would die in space, but dreams don't come true, now do they?"

Mara chuckled lightly, and a small grin crept onto her face. "While I have to admire your audacity, you're still quite gullible."

"Oh?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"When my scout first saw you, she proposed what I thought was a hare-brained plane of luring you into a spot where you couldn't run away with a poor little boy and his sick mother."

The look of amusement disappeared from Corin's face as he came to grips with what she had said.

"Relying on the morals of a pirate? But I suppose it all worked out, since you're sitting here in front of me."

Every part of him pulsed with rage, poorly hidden by his stoic expression.

"If it makes you feel any better," she said, setting the antidote he gave the boy on the table, "we got this back for you. And now, that family is living comfortably in the eastern district, so you actually did help them a lot more than you-"

The sound of a body hitting the floor came from outside, grabbing her attention.

She looked back at Corin who had unlocked his cuffs while she was distracted. "Well, this has been wonderful, but…"

He leaped forward, making both of them crash to the floor. His knees rested on her arms, and he ignored the searing pain coming from his side.

"I really do have to get going."

She struggled under his weight as he examined the poison from underneath his belt.

 _Sedative? I guess I did have some._

Taking a quick swig from the small vial, he pressed his lips against hers; the liquid spewed out of his mouth, and through the entire process, he never broke eye contact, glowing with hatred. He reached for the antidote as he began to feel the effects of the sedative kick in.

 _Wouldn't want to fall asleep here._

Just as the queen's eyes drifted close, he gulped down what was left of his antidote and stepped off of her body.

He stared at her for a moment, noticing how beautiful she looked in her sleep.

 _What a nice mask for such a terrible person._

Corin lifted his shirt to cover his nose as he stepped out of the door, knowing that the sedative would already be in its gaseous form. The corsair lied on the floor to his left, and he sneered at her unconscious body.

"Time to go," he told himself, taking off down the hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: back from a long ass hiatus. No excuses except that I had no inspiration. C'est la vie.**

* * *

"You know Corin hates it when you go in his room while he's out." Shawn stood at the door with his arms folded. A small smile rested on his face but the dark circles beneath his eyes gave away the sleepless nights that had plagued both him and Kenna.

"A clean room isn't going to kill him," Kenna replied as she hastily picked up the garbage and dirty laundry strewn across the floor.

"It won't… but someone touching his stuff will."

"Uh-huh."

He stood at the door, uncomfortably waiting for her to add something to her somewhat curt response. When it became clear that she had no intention of continuing the conversation, he decided that it would be in his best interest to leave.

"Well, uh, I'm gonna go check in on the search party. Um… have fun."

Kenna nodded her head. "Yeah, I'll do that."

He hesitated a moment before he left, silently urging himself to get out before he said something he regretted.

 _Please leave. Seriously, just go. You're literally standing at the door. You really don't have to tell her anything._

"Hey, do you need someone to talk to? I know that Corin being missing is hard on all of us, and-"

"Shawn, please. I don't need or want to talk to anyone right now, so if you'd just…"

"Okay… uh, will do." He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away from the room, all while his face burned with embarrassment.

* * *

Vomit spilled onto the floor as Mara violently retched the poison from her body. Her servants made quick work of the mess and helped her to her bedroom.

With a servant at each side, she stumbled through the doorway. It felt as though each step took a conscious effort due to the sedative that still clouded her mind. Although, the poison was not the only thing she was thinking of; reports had informed her that her prisoner had escaped from the complex and no one knew whether he had left the Reef or not.

Another gag made its way to her throat, causing a stream of vomit to dribble down her chin.

Mara gently wiped her face with a handkerchief and clenched it in her fist. "What kind of sedative would make someone do… this?" She asked as she held up to the soiled cloth.

"I don't believe it's the poison that's causing this," Petra answered, stepping into her room, "No one else that was afflicted by it is having the same reaction as you."

"Perhaps it's just my disgust for that filthy _pirate_." She spat out the words with such disgust that it was almost tangible. "He dared to put his mouth on mine and-"

Petra's eyes widened and a scowl appeared on her face. "He kissed you?"

"I need something to wash _him_ out of my mouth."

Still deeply disturbed by her queen's story, Petra stood perfectly still as a servant rushed to Mara with a glass of water.

"I told you that you needed more guards," she said through clenched teeth, "What good did you think would come from interrogating a prisoner alone?"

"I had my reasons," Mara replied, spitting the water back into the glass.

"What reasons?! Did you expect-"

"Hold your tongue." Her voice lowered as she glared at Petra. "You are my friend, but you are also my subject. Do not mistake yourself for Uldron."

She handed her glass back to her servant and turned her attention back to Petra. "Now, what are your plans for finding him?"

"He- ahem- stole a galliot from the hangar, but it was tracked and recovered in approximately ten minutes after his escape just a mile west of 2 Pallas' northern district. Since then, four hours have passed and we believe that he is still there. I've already set up a blockade around the colony and no ship has been able to leave or arrive."

A wicked smile spread across Mara's face. "Petra?"

"Yes, my queen?"

"Remind me to rip out his tongue the next time we capture him. I grew quite tired of hearing his voice."

"Capture? We've learned all that we need from him. Killing him is a completely viable option."

"Petra…" her grip tightened around the edge of her bed, so much that her arms began to tremble. "I want him _alive_. He will not be granted such a merciful death. Am I clear?"

"Of course," she responded uneasily.

"You are dismissed." She waved Petra and her servants away and shut the door behind them. Leaning against the wall, Mara peered out her window into the purple

abyss. "Corin O'Dea, ready or not, here I come."

* * *

" _You sure you don't want to come along?" Shawn asked as he put on his coat, "it'll be fun and I'll pay for the first round… just yours, though. I'm not that rich."_

 _Corin shoved him out onto the ship's ramp. "You go have fun with the crew. Besides, I hate earth. Too many nosy Guardians for my liking."_

" _Whatever," he replied with a shrug before jogging after the others._

 _A deep sigh of relief escaped Corin's chest, experiencing the beautiful sound of nothing for the first time in a what felt like a lifetime. His trademark smile faded into a resting frown; although for him, it was a welcome change to the constant show he put on for his crew and the unwavering smile he had kept on his face._

 _By the time he reached his room, he was about ready to collapse from exhaustion. The door slid open, but to his surprise, his room wasn't empty. Kenna had made herself at home on a couch across from his bed, engrossed in one of the many books she stashed in her own room._

" _What are you doing in my bedroom?"_

 _She grinned without lifting her eyes from the pages. "I'm reading."_

" _Very funny," he said sarcastically, "But why_ _are you in my bedroom?"_

" _Your couch is comfortable," she answered, looking up at Corin, who was now standing at the other end of the small sofa. "Is something wrong?"_

" _Of course something's wrong. You're hogging my-"_

 _Kenna held up her free hand and raised her eyebrows. "Corin, you know what I mean."_

 _From years and years of experience, she had gained the ability to see straight through all of his clever performances, making her the only crew member who knew who the real Corin was. It had reached a point where she was so adept in her skills that he no longer even tried to act happy around her._

" _I'm just tired," he replied, "tired of doing stuff… I just want… to nap."_

 _She gestured to his bed. "Then nap."_

" _Eh…" He looked at the mattress in distaste and then shifted his attention back to the couch._

" _What?" Kenna asked with blatant skepticism._

" _Beds are for sleeping. I want to nap."_

" _Is napping not sleeping?"_

 _Corin sluggishly raised his hand and waved it, motioning for her to get off the couch._

" _You're kidding," she said as she sat herself upright_

 _The empty space on the couch was almost immediately covered again by Corin's exhausted body. His head rested in Kenna's lap while his legs dangled over the armrest._

" _I'm dead serious, sweetie." He closed his eyes smiled up at her, and it was the first genuine smile she had seen on his face in a_ very _long time._

" _I want that cute little grin to stay there," she said, gently stroking his unruly hair._

" _Then stay here."_

 _He felt her hand come to a halt and his eyes flicked back open to examine her face for a response._

" _Cute," she remarked with an amused smirk, "Why can't you always be like this- like you used to be?" Her voice held a hint of sadness behind the nostalgia._

" _You would always act like you always do, but it was actually… real."_

 _Occupied by her thoughts, she hadn't even realized that Corin's smile had vanished. The circles beneath his eyes appeared even darker, and his grin was replaced with a scowl._

" _We've talked about this, Kenna. I don't feel like repeating-"_

" _I know that you were lying," she interrupted, "What do you have to hide from me, Corin?"_

 _He abruptly sat up and walked to the door. "Out."_

" _Corin…"_

" _Now!" he yelled as he slammed his fist against the door's control panel._

 _Taken aback by his sudden aggression, she glared at him before grabbing her book and leaving. Her quick footsteps trailed off from the hallway, and the silence that followed didn't give Corin's the pleasure it usually did. The room felt noticeably colder with her absence, and the guilt began to creep into his chest, gradually piling up until it felt like a weight had been dropped on his shoulders._

 _He sulked back to the couch and laid down, nowhere near as cozy as he had felt just minutes before._

* * *

"I'll tell you." Corin whispered to himself. "When I get out of this shithole, I promise…"

 _Wait a minute._

His eyes widened as he came to the realization that his galliot could be tracked and was most likely already being located. Quickly typing in a destination, he lowered the ship as close to the ground as he could fly it, then switched the controls to autopilot.

 _Oh Lord, what the hell am I doing?_

Corin took a deep breath as he opened up the ship's door. A blast of wind knocked him back into a wall, causing the stabbing pain in his side to return. Through the deafening torrents, he pulled himself forward and hurled himself out the door.

He cradled his head as he rolled for what seemed like an eternity and was certain he broke more ribs then that corsair did in her entire lifetime. His body finally came to a stop, caked in dirt and fresh blood from newly formed cuts.

 _I'm alive_

A bewildered laugh escaped his chest, causing his entire ribcage to ache. "I lived!" Little by little, his laughter died down into a disappointed sigh.

 _Damnit. Why the hell did I have to live? Now I have to find a way off of 4 Vesta._

"Mara Sov, pray that you don't capture me again… because I'll kill you if I ever see your face again."

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, feels good to get another chapter done. From here on out, I'm going to alternate stories with Teammates and this story because I'm really not satisfied with how Teammates is right now. I'm planning on going over each chapter and rewriting it and in between each chapter, I'll publish a new one for this story. Anyways, hope you liked it. Reviews are appreciated.**


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